[Note: See updates below] Why would someone create a Twitter account for a UK MP which was fake, say the next general is “in weeks”, but then delete the account? Was it a real account or a fake one created out of mischief? Just such questions are buzzing through Twitter right now because an account which looked very much like it was the official one for Nick Brown MP (@nickbrownmp) tweeted, in reply to Austin Mitchell, this morning:

Luckily there is Twitter search, plus plenty of people have been watching and the observant @andrewgerrard grabbed the image above.

If this is “real” – and the fact that the account has now been deleted suggest it is – then Nick Brown, known to be close to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, knows that there will be a UK general election this Summer. And he just sent a Tweet which was meant to be a private direct message. Stay tuned, this story is breaking…

Update 1: Ironically enough I had to go offline to speak at the Media 140 conference in London this afternoon and have not been able to get back on this story (which I am now doing). So, Sky News’ Political blogger Cheryl Smith appears to have called Nick Brown’s office and they say the @nickbrownmp was fake.